ART MAG COVER

BIOGRAPHY : NATHAN DURFEE

Nathan Durfee has garnered notoriety across the Southeast for his captivating, pop-surrealist narratives and intriguing use of color. Currently based in Charleston, South Carolina, Durfee has been heralded as the 2010 Best Local Visual Artist by Charleston City Paper and the winner of the 2010 Charleston Portrait Slam, in addition to receiving the Teatrio Cultural Association book award for his children’s book Hello My Name is Bernard. Each of Durfee’s solo gallery exhibitions has also been met with critical acclaim and sold out almost immediately. Durfee has also recently been profiled in American Art Collector, Charleston Art and Charleston Scene magazines.

A native of Vermont, Durfee pursued a career in illustration after graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2005, contributing to various publications across the Southeast, in addition to designing album art and commercial promotional materials. Durfee then began to explore his love of painting, creating fanciful contemporary narratives that feature an eclectic array of characters in mesmerizing and often contrasting color palettes. He made a seamless transition into from illustrator to full-time painter in 2009.

Each of Durfee’s paintings begins with an enormous amount of push and pull from the artist, in which ideas are refined and adjusted, until a rough idea starts to form. He then begins rendering the elements of the painting while maintaining a wandering state of mind. Many of his whimsical characters are faced with tough, yet universal decisions, conveying a sense of security in an unsure world to the viewer. He hopes to expand on these ideas and tell larger stories in his future work.

Durfee continues to push himself to explore new techniques and color combinations, in addition to collaborating on works with other painters including Robert Lange, Megan Aline and Charles Williams. Collaboration not only lends to each artist’s strengths, but also creates a conversation between two styles that a lone artist would not be able to demonstrate. Durfee’s constant evolution as an artist has led to a body of work that is ever growing and continues to both thrill and fascinate its viewers.

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS
2010 The Soft Embrace of a Porcelain Night, Robert Lange Studios, SC
2010 The Line of Notes, Picollo Spoletto Jazz Series, Charleston SC
2010 Solo Showing, The Koelsch Gallery, Houston TX
2009 Thoughts Between the Sky and Sea, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston SC
2009 Art and Jazz Picollo Spoletto Jazz Series, Charleston SC
2009 Walter’s Weird Companions ShopSCAD, Savannah GA
2008 Where Petals and Rain Fall Robert Lange Studios, Charleston SC
2008 Shows before Shows Footlight Gallery, Charleston SC
2007 A Celebration of Stems and Clouds Modernisme Gallery, Charleston SC
2006 Missing Pages Gallery at Theater 99, Charleston SC

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Growing Pains Lemiux Gallery, New Orleans LA
2010 Black vs White Robert Lange Studios, Charleston SC
2010 Different Strokes Robert Lange Studios, Charleston SC
2009 Kulture Klash 4 Charleston, SC
2009 Yellow vs. Blue Robert Lange Studios, Charleston SC
2009 Taste Savannah Slaughter House, Savannah, GA
2008 Small Works Red Gallery, Savannah GA
2008 Artists of the Carolinas Blue Diamond Gallery, Greensboro NC
2008 Pixels and Pages Exhibit One Gallery, Stillwater OK
2008 New Artists, New Works Artizen Gallery, Dallas TX
2008 Kulture Klash 3 Charleston, SC
2008 Bark Show Margo Kaufman Gallery, Charleston SC
2007 iShow Modernisme Gallery, Charleston SC
2007 The Exquisite Corpse Redux Studios, Charleston SC
2006 The Little Things Modernisme Gallery, Charleston SC
2006-2007 Associazione Cultureal Teatrio, illustrated book project show
Teatrio Culture Association, Italy
2005 SCAD Society of Illustrators Show, Starlight Gallery, Savannah GA

AWARDS & HONORS
2010 Winner Best Local Visual Artist in Charleston, City Paper, Charleston SC
2009 Winner of the Charleston Portrait Slam Eye Level Art, Charleston SC
2006 Outstanding Achievement Award Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah GA
2005 Teatrio Cultureal Association Book Project Award Teatrio, Italy